There is no other person throughout history whose name and accomplishments influenced so many, from Julius Caesar to Napoleon, like Alexander the Great. Born a son of the Macedonian King Philip II in 356 BC, he was tutored in war and philosophy by none other than Aristotle. Upon the assassination of his father, Philip II, in 336 BC, the now 20-year-old Alexander was proclaimed king by the Macedonian noblemen and the army. He then launched his invasion of Anatolia (Turkey) and sought the conquest of Persia and beyond that would last for one cycle interval of just 13 years until 323 BC
His conquest was a series of expeditions that were unmatched in military history. Alexander conquered lands as distant as modern-day Afghanistan and even at least attempted to invade India. Alexander controlled most of the known Western world at the height of his power. His sudden death, most likely by assassination, at the age of 32 remains shrouded in mystery. To this very day, his military tactics are still reviewed.
Yet what these coins truly represent is far more than merely a man. Alexander’s place in history in toppling the great empires like that of Persia and even Egypt, was more than just military battles. Alexander reshaped the entire world and single-handedly spread Greek Hellenistic culture. Egypt never issued their own coinage until Alexander conquered them. It was a culture that would take root and survive into the Roman era, bringing art and philosophy to the world – perhaps his greatest contribution.
For numismatists, Alexander is a significant figure in the history of ancient coinage. Although Alexander’s coins were also struck with the same design around his empire, they exist in a vast array of symbols and monograms that occur in the reverse field, which functioned as mintmarks, so you knew where they were struck. There are more than 120 mints known to have issued coinage of the Alexandrine type. Animals, religious objects, and representations of deities are among the symbols that the collector will encounter. This series of coins can be collected by symbol/monogram, and some of the scarcer issues command substantial premiums.
